Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - September 2008

What a mess August has made of my September blooms! Well, it isn't all of August's fault, some of the blame lies with the first two weeks of September, too.

Oh, and June and July have to own up to what they did, too. And just yesterday Hurricane Ike, or what was left of it, came through and tried to blow everything away.

Here's what happened...

I mostly remember this summer as starting out very wet in June, then being very comfortable and enjoyable in July with moderate temperatures and rain when we needed it. Then in mid-August, the rain disappeared and didn't return until this past week.

I've never seen plants dry up so quickly and the lawn seemed to go dormant almost overnight.

My excuse theory for why the plants dried up so quickly is that they got all lazy with the plentiful rain in June and July and didn't grow any deep roots looking for water. The water was always right there. Right there at the surface.

Then when the rain stopped and the water wasn't right there in the first few inches of dirt, the plants had no deep roots to go after deeper reserves of moisture and therefore just dried up.

What do you think of that excuse theory? Let that be a lesson to all on what happens to lazy plants, and people, too.

But now the rain has returned and the plants are growing and flowering again, so all is not lost and I have high hopes for fall.

The Verbena bonariensis pictured above has been blooming for a few weeks. I generally let it self sow a bit and come up here and there in the garden becomes it blooms late when not a lot of other new blooms are around.

I'll have to remember that the August "lilies" (Hosta) provide a good show in September, too.
And they still have a sweet scent to them!

Notice that the lawn has turned green again? It was very tan a week or so ago before we got some rain.

I have sedum (Stonecrop) all over the place, partly because it is an easy plant to dig and divide in the spring and I keep moving it around, dividing it each time.This is probably a Sedum telephium, variety unknown, or possibly Sedum spectabile. Or it could be Hylotelephium telephium or Hylotelephium spectabile, which are the new botanical names for these sedums. Or we could go with the other common name, Witch's Moneybags. I don't remember where I got it or how it came to be in my garden, but I like the dark rosy pink blooms.

Nearby is Sedum erythrostictum 'Frosty Morn'.This is supposed to have variegated leaves, but it has mostly reverted back to plain green. And it has gotten all floppy this fall, whereas the other variety has not. I suppose, by the way, that like the other sedum, this one, too, could have a new botanical name. Let's just call it 'Frosty Morn'.

My best blooms this month are these Colchicums. Where have these been my entire gardening life? Thank you to Kathy from Cold Climate Gardening for sending them to me last fall.

I especially like how they come up through the sedum groundcover. It makes it less obvious that there is no foliage, just flowers.

What's blooming in your garden? I'd love to have you join us for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. It's easy to particpate. Just post on your blog about your mid-September blooms and then come here and leave a comment so we can find you.

I am totally subscribing to your excuse--er, theory, by the way. I think that my plants must have gotten all lazy, too, because they seemed to do the same thing yours did. I hope that they all learned their lessons! lol.

Your colchicums are very pretty. I love seeing them popping up through the little sedum foliage.

My GBBD post is up too you can find it here http://blissyo-elgarden.blogspot.com/

Your Colchiums look very pretty and your sedums look great, they seem to be much further along than mine at the mo. I'm very surprised that the Verbena bonariensis has only been in flower for a few weeks in your garden as it has been flowering in mine for months now. Perhaps there is a bigger difference in our climates then I thought?

Hi Carol! I'd say your theory certainly sounds plausible. I'm glad you still have some flowers to share after all of those challenges. Your hostas are gorgeous, and their scent must be heavenly. Thanks for sharing! I've put up my own Bloom Day post at www.gardeninggonewild.com this month.

I adore those colchicums - what a lovely subtle colour. And sorry to hear you've had trouble with Hurricane Ike - we don't have such things as hurricanes here (thank goodness) but we've been having all the rain... and some... beginning to feel like I live on a sodden, drafty lump of rock just off the coast of Europe these days! (but the sun is out today so maybe I'm being a little over-judgemental!)

Sedums are just lovely at this time of the year aren't they? I was tempted by 'Frosty Morn' last week but resisted. Your warning about floppiness has made me think agai. I'm a bit of a lazy gardener when it comes to staking and the rest of my sedums are holding their heads up high at the moment in spite of my shocking neglect of them! I love the way they attract loads of butterflies and hoverflies at this time of year.

http://patientgardener.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/gbbd-september-08/Hi Carol - done my GBBD post for this month, felt bad as I missed August as I was so fed up with the weather but the sun is shining now and really lifting the spirits.

Beautiful Colchicums. Thanks for your photos. I hope you weren't too near Hurricane Ike. It has been a strange summer here too. I've posted a small mediterranean flower at http://olives-and-artichokes.blogspot.com

No matter what you call them, those sedums look beautiful. And thanks so much for showing your verbena--that is the "mystery" plant I saw a few weeks ago that I wanted to identify.We've had the same weather here, just west of you in Illinois. My windblown flowers are on my GBBD post today. Thanks for sponsoring Bloom Day once again!

I totally agree with your theory - I'm sticking with that word - Here in CT noticed the same the August dry period made things crunchy in a matter of days. And then the rains again here - super floppy sedums everywhere! next year they all get pinched back in June to 1/2 their size als Tracy D-A!!!!

Carol, many thanks! I like your theory about the roots and the rains. I plan to use it to explain all my garden failures this year :-)

Your sedum look very impressive. Mine are just starting to peek out.

I've been looking forward to Bloom Day for a couple of weeks and have some pics from New Mexico and some from my garden in NY. I thought I might have a Peace rose and rose of Sharon to share today. They're not ready yet, but here's where you can see what is:

Your theory does make a lot of sense! Love the sedums. And those colchicums look like must haves! The hosta blooms are definitely looking good. Here's my post for GBBD September, I've got a few shots of the wildflowers around our property in addition to some garden pictures.

Whew! At least I'm not the only one who's garden isn't performing up to her usual standards. I was kind of embarrassed when I went out to the yard and saw so few photo worthy plants. Alas, I think this will be my last bloom day post until next April or May. Unless you want to be inundated with Christmas trees and fake flowers. LOL. My post is up. http://cbmvwag.blogspot.com/2008/09/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-september.html

Well, my post will be up shortly, I thought I'd save time and come over here and make my comment now. Plus, I have to admit, I wasn't wanting to be down at comment 128 like I have been some months!

In spite of your garden not being up to its usual snuff due to weather issues, it is still quite lovely. And I love colchicums too! They really save the "garden day" in the late fall. If you like those you should look into some of the other varieties out there. Not that I am trying to be the great tempter here. . .

I don't know if I have ever adequately thanked you for beginning this meme. It has been one of my favorite blogthings to do. Thanks Carol!

In spite of the rain, I've got mine done too: http://tinyurl.com/59vhy2.I noticed that the August lilies (Hosta plantaginea) had the strongest scent in the rain. Maybe the scent couldn't waft about the garden with the rain pouring down like a wall. I've never heard the common name "Witch's Moneybags" for Sedum. It must have something to do with the foliage. I hope you'll be flattered by my theft of the idea of growing the Colchicums through the prostrate Sedum. I have both plants, why have I never put them together?

Hi Carol - I think your sedum "Frosty Morn" is a very pretty colour especially combined with the deep rich colour of the "Witch's Moneybags" I have not heard sedum called that before!Thank you for hosting GBBD - my post is up.RegardsKaren

Sounds like a plausible theory to me! All your stuff still looks good though. My garden's been suffering from too much rain shock: http://diggrowcompostblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-sept-2008.html

Hi Carol, I enjoy the "tall" Sedum for late-summer and fall blossoms! Yours look great. I've divided my variegated leaf sedum often... and the RAIN we've had lately has really caused many of them to droop! Those that aren't drooping, though, are being supported by those "grow-through rings" with removable legs. In the fall, after everything has gone dormant, I remove the rings and legs and hang them until Spring.

I "cheated" with my GBBD post somewhat. I finished my Sunday post at nearly midnight, so I figure maybe I can do both subjects with one post? ;-)

Hi Carol, It seems like it's been a tough summer for a lot of us. (I have all sorts of *excuses* for my garden at home - few theories.) Your garden looks to be plenty abundant and gorgeous. Thanks, as always, for being such a terrific Bloom Day host!

The hosta flowers are so tall and beautiful, Carol - and I love the way the Colchicums emerge from that sedum...assuming it still gets to be called sedum.

But aren't you being a little hard on the plants by calling them lazy? With all that water saturating the ground didn't they have to use their surface roots or drown? It's not their fault Nature shut off the sprinklers!

Beautiful blooms, Carol! I don't think you need to worry about excuses.My post is here:http://calgarygardencoach.typepad.com/calgarygardencoach/2008/09/whats-blooming-in-my-calgary-zone-3-garden-in-september.html

For having such wet and then droughty weather your blooms look good and you have quite a few too Carol. It is good to hear that you, or your garden, didn't blow away yesterday. I got a GBBD post up this month. I missed last month for some reason.

After having missed June July and August GBBD's ,I thought the rain would make this bloom day a bust as well. No sun today but at least it has been dry enough to take a few pictures...Gloria at pollinators-welcome

Carol, how lovely your garden looks despite your reported laziness. It has been a challenging summer for weather. I'm not contributing to GBBD. Neglect would be the best word to describe a yard left to Boston-based tenants for a year while we were living in England. I'll get vicarious garden joy by visiting other gardens. Thanks for organizing another GBBD.

Here's something off the subject, Carol. I just discovered an author from Indiana, Haven Kimmel. Do you know of her? I have been enjoying her writing a lot, and learning about your state in the process.Back to garden talk: please visit me at: http://bannersbyricki.com

We felt the wrath of what's left of Ike yesterday too in Ohio. My garden was dry, and now it's a wreck. Here are the blooms that survived:)http://www.motherearthsgarden.com/september-garden-bloggers-bloom-day/

Love your hostas, Carol. The deer keep munching mine down to the ground. And your sedum are thrilled that it's getting to be Fall. Still too hot here for blooms, I think. I should have some next month to show. My post is up and it's still the 15th -- whoo hoo. Thanks for hosting.

I think your theory sounds very feasable...and if I were you I'd stick to it. We had very similar weather and my plants got a little lazy too :)I have one August 'lily' blooming but forgot to take a photo of it. Imagine that! Yours are wonderful, as are your sedums and oh, lucky you to have some Cold Climate colchicums! They're gorgeous!My post is late again, but it's up.Happy Bloom Day Carol!

What a great bunch of fall blooms I'm seeing in September! Thank you to everyone for posting for bloom day. I'm caught up on reading and commenting on all the posts, as far as I know. If I missed yours let me know.

And, if you are just arriving and think you missed bloom day, feel free to post anyway, we'll be glad to see what you have blooming, too!